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The Lombardi Rules
Dear iXSELLent,
I want to share with you “The Lombardi Rules” which I read a few days ago. His drive for victory and his faith in people have inspired me. I hope his message can inspire you as well and become the champion in the “game of life”. Vince Lombardi was the world’s greatest sport coach. In 1960s where he led the Green Bay Packers to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first to super bowls following the 1966 and 1976 NFL seasons.
His uncanny ability to inspire others along with his insatiable drive for victory made most respected in his field. He believed that there is only one place for a winner-You have to be number one. The process of becoming a winner is through develop a character, finishing what you started, never compromising your goals and giving everything you got to achieve your goals.
Let’s learn the 1-8 of 26 Lessons from the World’s Greatest Coach in history Vince Lombardi.
1. Ask yourself tough questions
“I’ m no better nor less than the next man. But the thing about me is that always knew what my next acts would mean. I was lucky…I found a singleness of purpose early on.”
Lombardi believed that to be a great leader you need to develop a foundation of your character. This includes integrity, honesty and commitment. Once you’ve acquired a solid foundation of your character, you gain self-awareness. The process of gaining self-awareness begins by asking tough questions about true yourself and your true purpose of being here. You can only become excellent on the things you do by aligning with yourself with your passion or inner self. The moment Vince Lombardi knew that he was born to to be a great leaders and make an impact in the world-his results were astounding!
2. Look the Truth Straight on
“A successful man is himself. To be successful you got to be honest with yourself.”
The truth is the compass to your soul. One of the greatest poems about being true to yourself is “The man in the Mirror” This poem described that there is only one fellow to please on earth-“the person starring back from the glass”. Never mind the rest for he is with you clear up to the end. And you passed your most dangerous and difficult test is the man in the glass is you friend. You can fool the world down the pat way of years and get pats on the back as you pass but your final reward will be heart aches and tears if your cheated the man in the glass. This poem tells us that happiness from within and greatness can only be achieved by being you.
3. Play Your Strengths
“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”
Winners know their strengths and weaknesses. Winners in sports or business make calculative risks and make quick decisions. They listen to their instincts-they in their gut what will bring them success. Successful people know that they are good-they hire a mentor or coach to be the best in your chosen field. They delegate to the experts what they cannot do. The top people in their field have no competitions.
4. Write Your Character
“A good name shines forever.”
~Proverb
Your character determines your success in life and business. Ultimately, the legacy you will leave once the time is over is how people remember you. A person’s character which is built on a solid foundation of honesty, integrity, humbleness, generosity, sincerity, genuineness and serving will shine forever and attract great people to them. The word character derived from the words “inscribed” or “engraved” which mean imbedded in your subconscious mind. It is the code you carry with you and the image you project to the public. Try to examine your thought patterns, actions and behaviours…it is serving you long term? What impact do you want to leave?
5. Think Big Picture
“The future you see is the future you get”
~Robert Allen
You are the architect of your own life. You can either build a tower of success or dig dark dungeon for your miseries. Many people are living their lives from the past. Your past is not equal your future. There is nothing impossible-you can do and be whatever you want. Successful people are ambitious and see only great future for themselves and their family. Dream big and act as if you were impossible to fail in your dreams.Unsuccessful and depressed people see the opposites-Majority of people are so scared to dream because of fear- fear of failure and the fear of shame.They see hindrances, failures and hurts. Everything around us is the creation of our own thoughts, emotions and actions. Everyone successful people failed many times before they succeeded in their ventures. Failures are not negatives; they help you realised things need to be improved. See yourself successful and you will be achieved success. See yourself fail and you will fail.
Imagine you are God and possessed the power creates anything you want. What would you create?
6. Be Completed Committed
“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person”
~Albert Einstein
The Latin word for commitment means “cutting away” all other things in to achieve you ultimate goals. It means your full attention, energy other resources are focus on one thing only. It could be the expansion of your business, building a happy and healthy family or being a top leader. Top people in their careers made the decision early in the career to commit to be excellent in whatever it is they do. Similar in marriage and raising your children-your time, money and energy is given to them because you are committed to them. Committed parents have a much happier & healthier family. Similar to business-a committed director of the company has happier and long-term staff members compare to the one that is not.
7. Persistent.
“Money grows on the tree of persistence”
~Japanese Proverbs
The other word for persistence is to have faith. Whatever it is you are doing right now, if you truly believe you in your heart, it is yours…you will persists. Never ever allow anyone to influence your decision towards your progress in life. You know yourself well-your strengths and weaknesses. Never give up on your dreams-persist always. Know that you are born to achieve great success in life.
8. Be Prepared to Pay the Price
“I think you got to pay the price for anything that’s worthwhile, and success is paying the price.
You got to pay the price to win; you’ve got to pay the price to stay on top,
And you’ve got pay the price to get there.”
There is a price in all the we do and have-we pay money time or our expertise. Top executives, sport players and entrepreneurs worked extremely hard to get their. The process of success and greatness is organic, you work and smart- success will follows. One of my friends mentioned the “Piano Lesson”, as a kid he wanted to be a top pianist so he practiced 3 hours/day for the competition. At the national completion, he came second. At first he was extremely disappointed about the outcome and was disheartened but new his opponent must have done something to be the winner. So he asked his opponent about the secret of being a winner in this competition. The answer simple, “I practiced 2 hours in the morning, 2 hours at lunch time and 2 hours in the evening. For the last 6 months” So the winner put double the amount of effort to win the competition. Our moral lesson is you got you pay the price for everything you want in life.
To be continued….
Yours sincerely,
7 Qualities of Master Achievers
Do you still remember the “7 Qualities of Master Achievers” by Brian Tracy discussed in our last event? Well, I thought I might remind you that it is not too late to be successful in life. We all know a thousand mile journey begins with one step. You can achieve anything you want in life if you are prepared to put some effort towards achieving it. Just imagine where will you be and what kind of lifestyle will you have… 3 , 5 or 10 years from now? Brain Tracy’s finding says it all…success or failure is predictable. You got to be ambitious in life and dream big if you want better than what you have right now. Have fun reading the 7 Qualities of Master Achievers…
1. They are ambitious
“Act as if you were impossible to fail”
My question to you is, “Are you ambitious enough to win the game of life? Your ambition and belief in yourself will determine your success in life. Majority of people who are at the top of any organization or large corporations are driven by their ambitions to be excellent in what they do. They have unshakable beliefs in themselves to achieve great things in life. In contrast people who achieved nothing, lack ambitions and self-confidence. Which person do you want to be?
2. They are courageous
“I know I am weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king”
Queen Elizabeth I
Courage is the fuel for taking the first step and staying there until your reach your goal. Queen Elizabeth I clearly demonstrated tremendous courage when she took in-charge of England between 1558 to 1603. Courage is a must to conquer your fear.
3. They are committed
“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole
strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person”
Albert Einstein
Commitment is the most powerful word I have come across. For me, it means being consistent and diligent because you want to produce desired results. Recently, a year ago, I watched a video of Nick Vujicic, no arms, no legs & no worries; he is the man who is extremely committed to be to live a life without limits. He is a man without legs and no arms yet he has achieved remarkable things in life despite the fact that he was he was considered disabled by many. Today he is travelling around the world transforming lives of millions because Nick is committed to make a difference and leave a legacy.
4. They are professionals
“If you think a professional is expensive, wait ’til you try an amateur”
Paul “Red” Adair
We perceived the word professionals as “experts” or “problem solvers”. Well, it is absolutely true; professionalism is about giving your very best to your clients because you depend on them. So always be professional in anything you do because will receive the highest reward for being one: you get more business from them and tell their friends and families about your level of service.
5. They are prepared
“Luck favors the mind that is prepared”
Louis Pasteur
Preparation is one of the key aspects in order to execute an outstanding performance or even producing a great result. I remember a story from my friend who was a Steinway Piano store manager for one of the largest music store in Australia. He was already top salesperson and was always professional dealing with all of his clients. One day, one of the richest businessmen came through his store looking for advice on Steinway and he was able to answer all his questions and provide excellent service. As a result, this businessman offered his something he could not refuse – to become his business partner. Many people will call this luck but I will call effort and excellence paid off.
6. They are continuous learners
“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere”
Chinese proverb
Continuous improvement is part of life. People who excel often
learn new ways to better themselves compare to their competitors. So if you want to stand out from the crowd, read books, listen to CDs and improve your skills and knowledge. There is nothing better when you receive a compliment for being ahead of the crowd.
7. They are responsible
“Man is fully responsible for his nature and choices”
Jean-Paul Sarte
Many people come up with excuses to validate their failure and inability not to do much in life. I noticed that people who always come up with reasons and many excuses are incapable of producing results. The most fascinating thing in life is know that you are responsible for your life, happiness and achievements in life. So stop blaming your mother, father, wife or husband for your past failures. The most liberating experience in life is to know that you are accountable for your actions and decisions in life.
Yours sincerely,
The Master’s Mindset
I thought I might share with you some food for thought. These quotes are a reminder to us that life is what you make out of it.
Your outer world is the reflection of your inner world.
1. My Golden Age starts today. This is a reminder that if you expect good things to happen to you, it will happen as long as you take action towards its attainment.
2. A good mind & a good heart is a formidable combination-Nelson Mandela. The Sacred Psychology of Success relates to your ability to combine wisdom and love in anything you do.
3. Your network is equal to your net-worth. Attitude is contagious, you become the average of your five friends. Make a deliberate attempt to select quality people in your life.
4. Open you heart and mind to blessings & opportunities. The world is abundant but NOT everyone can see it. Abundant mentality sees opportunities whereas scarcity mentality see competitions, objections and rejections.
5. Quitters never win, winners never quit. Challenges in life are there to test us, so persevere and have faith because you are born a winner! Remember the five Ps of life: purpose, persistence, perseverance, people and projects.
Yours sincerely,